Geena Davis

Since the early 1980s, this statuesque (about 6') former fashion model has carefully crafted a winning screen persona that has made her one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors. While Davis' somewh...
Read More...

Actress Jessica Chastain has credited director Sir Ridley Scott with creating more roles for women in Hollywood by championing them as lead actors in his movies. The Zero Dark Thirty star is adamant the British moviemaker has helped change the industry over the years by letting women front his films rather than putting them in supporting roles.
She tells Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, "I've always been a fan of Ridley's. He's a gem of a human being, for starters. And he provided so many great roles for women. Look at Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in Thelma And Louise. And there was Sigourney Weaver, as Ripley in Alien. That was originally written for a man, and he changed it to a woman. That doesn't happen a lot in our business."

Thelma & Louise co-stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis are considering embarking on a new road trip to commemorate the upcoming 25th anniversary of the movie classic. The old pals portrayed the titular characters in the 1991 drama, about two friends who hit the road as they attempt to escape the law.
Sarandon admitted last year (14) that she was keen to reunite with Davis onscreen for a sequel, but official movie plans have yet to come to fruition, so the actresses are planning to celebrate the milestone next year (16) with their own adventure.
Davis says, "We're thinking about it (a road trip), yeah. We had to celebrate it some way."
Both stars landed Oscar nods for the film, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and also launched Brad Pitt's career.

Geena Davis has launched a new film festival aimed at women and diversity in film, and she has helped recruit Julianne Moore, Samuel L. Jackson and Natalie Portman, among other top names, as advisors. The inaugural Bentonville Film Festival will take place from 5-9 May (14) in Bentonville, Arkansas, and will be the first and only film competition in the world to "offer guaranteed theatrical, television, digital and retail home entertainment distribution" for its winners.
A League of Their Own star Davis will serve as chairwoman of the festival, which will screen approximately 75 films in competition. These will range from "studio premieres to independent features and documentaries".
Davis says, "I have been an advocate for women for most of my adult life... and the Bentonville Film Festival is a critical component of how we can directly impact the quantity and quality of females and minorities on screen and behind-the scenes."
Joining Moore, Portman and Jackson on the advisory board will be Angela Bassett, Bruce Dern, Eva Longoria, Paula Patton and Shailene Woodley.
Films that receive the Audience, Jury Selection and Best Family Film awards at the festival will receive a distribution agreement with a guaranteed traditional theatrical release on a minimum of 25 screens from AMC Theatres.

Gone Girl and The Imitation Game were the big winners at the 2014 Hollywood Film Awards on Friday night (14Nov14) after taking home seven honors between them.
The David Fincher thriller, starring Ben Affleck as a cheating husband who is suspected of killing his wife, earned the top prize of Hollywood Film, while Gillian Flynn took home the Hollywood Screenwriter award for turning her bestselling book into a movie of the same name.
The Imitation Game was a quadruple winner, earning Benedict Cumberbatch Hollywood Actor and Keira Knightley Hollywood Supporting Actress for their portrayals of famous World War Two encryption specialists Alan Turing and Joan Clarke, while filmmaker Morten Tyldum was named Hollywood Director and Alexandre Desplat earned the title of Hollywood Film Composer.
New dad Robert Downey, Jr. took time out of diaper duties to celebrate his The Judge co-star Robert Duvall as Hollywood Supporting Actor, the first award of the night, while Angelina Jolie honored Jack O'Connell with the New Hollywood award for his performance as Olympian-turned-war hero Louis Zamperini in Unbroken.
The Hollywood Film Awards, which recognize "excellence in the art of cinema and filmmaking", serves as the official launch of the Hollywood awards season. The ceremony was hosted by Queen Latifah from the Hollywood Palladium and featured appearances from Jennifer Lopez, Johnny Depp, Laura Dern, Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Robert Pattinson, Hilary Swank, Jonah Hill and Geena Davis.
The main list of winners at the 2014 Hollywood Film Awards is:
Hollywood Film - Gone Girl
Hollywood Blockbuster - Guardians of the Galaxy
Hollywood Actor - Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Hollywood Actress - Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Hollywood Supporting Actor - Robert Duvall, The Judge
Hollywood Supporting Actress - Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Hollywood Breakout Performance, Actor - Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Hollywood Breakout Performance, Actress - Shailene Woodley, The Fault In Our Stars
Hollywood Director - Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Hollywood Breakthrough Director - Jean-Marc Vallee, Wild
Hollywood Screenwriter - Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
Hollywood Ensemble - Foxcatcher
Hollywood Career Achievement - Michael Keaton
New Hollywood - Jack O'Connell, Unbroken
Hollywood Documentary - Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon
Hollywood Comedy Film - Top Five
Hollywood Animation - How To Train Your Dragon 2
Hollywood Cinematography - Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Hollywood International - Jing Tian
Hollywood Visual Effects - Scott Farrar, Transformers: Age of Extinction
Hollywood Film Composer - Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Hollywood Song - Janelle Monae, Rio 2
Hollywood Costume Design - Milena Canonero, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Hollywood Editor - Jay Cassidy and Dody Dorn, Fury
Hollywood Production Design - Dylan Cole and Gary Freeman, Maleficent
Hollywood Sound - Ren Klyce, Gone Girl
Hollywood Makeup and Hairstyling - David White and Elizabeth Yanni-Georgiou, Guardians of the Galaxy.

Veteran actor Jeff Goldblum is a married man again after exchanging vows with his new fiancee on Saturday (08Nov14).
The Jurassic Park star proposed to actress/gymnast Emilie Livingston in July (14), while on vacation in Hawaii, and they walked down the aisle at Los Angeles' Chateau Marmont venue over the weekend.
Goldblum's representative has confirmed the news to UsMagazine.com, while a source tells the publication, "It was a night filled with love, music, and lots of laughs."
The actor, who, at 62, is 31 years older than Livingston, treated guests to a piano performance at the reception and also serenaded his blushing bride. The couple began dating in 2011.
The marriage is Goldblum's third - he was previously wed to his Silverado co-star Patricia Gaul and Geena Davis, who featured in his 1986 sci-fi horror The Fly.

"He wormed his way onto the show. He knows the medical consultant... and he's actually done hand inserts on Grey's Anatomy before - they hire real surgeons if it's a tricky operation. He said, 'Hey, get me in a scene with Geena,' and he says (to me), 'I'm gonna be on the show with you...'" New Grey's Anatomy star Geena Davis' surgeon husband Reza Jarrahy often appears on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy and hopes to perform an upcoming C-section with his wife.

Geena Davis used advice Dustin Hoffman gave her on the set of her first film Tootsie to avoid upsetting an amorous Jack Nicholson. The actress struck up a friendship with Hoffman and soaked up all the acting tips he gave her as she transitioned from work as a Victoria's Secret model to the big screen - and there was one life lesson she found particularly useful.
Davis explains, "He said, 'Your co-stars are gonna hit on you and you should not to sleep with your co-stars, it's not a good idea... So here's what to say: When they hit on you say, 'I would love to... but I'm afraid it would ruin the sexual tension between us'."
The Thelma & Louise star had to use Hoffman's advice after a series of odd dates with Nicholson, which she thought were purely professional.
She recalls, "My agent happened to know Jack Nicholson really well... so every night we ended up having dinner with Jack Nicholson.
"We come home one day and there's a message: 'Geena Davis, call Jack Nicholson...' He said, 'Hey Geena, so when's it gonna happen...?' I said, 'Mr. Nicholson, I'm afraid you have the wrong idea'. (He said), 'Come on, I'll send a car, come on over'.
"I said, 'Well Mr. Nicholson, I have every hope that... some day we will work together and I would hate to have ruined the sexual tension between us'. He said, 'Oh my God, where did you get that?'"

Newly-engaged actor Jeff Goldblum is so keen to become a dad at 61 he has already started picking out baby names. The Jurassic Park star, who fronts his own jazz band, proposed to his actress/gymnast girlfriend Emilie Livingston in July (14) and he's already making family plans.
During an appearance on U.S. talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers on Tuesday (09Sep14), he said, "I'm looking for names for babies, possible babies. Well, it (becoming a dad) may (happen)... It probably jinxes it to talk about it, but I like thinking of names and Goldblum is such a kind of particular, challenging name, sound-wise.
"I have two names... Coda... Coda Goldblum, it's a musical term... The other one is Mingus...(after) Charles Mingus, who was a wonderful jazz player."
Goldblum decided to gauge the popularity of his chosen names by having the studio audience clap if they approved, but he was given cause to rethink the names after they both fell flat with fans.
His upcoming marriage to Livingston, who is 30 years younger than actor, will be Goldblum's third - he was previously wed to his Silverado co-star Patricia Gaul and Geena Davis, who featured in his 1986 sci-fi horror The Fly.

Veteran actor Jeff Goldblum is engaged to wed his 31-year-old girlfriend. The Jurassic Park star proposed to actress/gymnast Emilie Livingston while on vacation in Hawaii last week (ends11Jul14) and she has since shared photos of the romantic occasion on her Twitter.com account.
She uploaded a snap of the happy couple after the 61 year old popped the question in design shop OK Store, and in the accompanying caption, she wrote, "He proposed @ our fave #okstore. I was taken over by tears of joy n ecstasy! We picked the ring 2gether #inlove (sic)."
Alongside another image of the bride-to-be showing off her ring as they watched a sunrise at the top of the Haleakala volcano mountain, she wrote, "Celebrating our engagement!"
It will be Goldblum's third marriage - he was previously wed to his Silverado co-star Patricia Gaul and Geena Davis, who featured in his 1986 sci-fi horror The Fly.

Played a cutthroat head of psychiatry in A&E miniseries "Coma," based on 1978 film

Performed with Mount Washington Repertory Theatre Company in New Hampshire in the late 1970s

Founded production company Genial Pictures with partner Fanny Levy; made deal with Fox to develop own scripts and stories (date approximate)

Made debut as a series star with short-lived NBC sitcom "Sara"

First screen collaboration with future husband Jeff Goldblum (whom she met during the shoot), "Transylvania 6-5000"

TV series debut, played a recurring role on the hit NBC sitcom "Family Ties"

Hosted the Academy Awards telecast pre-show on ABC (March 21)

Starred in the dysfunctional family comedy-drama "Accidents Happen"

Reprised role as Mrs. Little in "Stuart Little 2"

"Sara" rerun on NBC in the summer

Final screen collaboration with Goldblum before their 1990 divorce, Julien Temple's "Earth Girls Are Easy"

Cast as the first female U.S. President on Rod Lurie's ABC drama "Commander in Chief"; earned a SAG (2006) nomination for Best Actress

Starred in and co-produced feature film "Speechless"

Debut as a series regular, played Wendy Killian on NBC's acclaimed but short-lived sitcom "Buffalo Bill"; also credited as writer for one episode

After graduating from college, signed with the NYC-based Zoli modeling agency (date approximate)

Summary

Since the early 1980s, this statuesque (about 6') former fashion model has carefully crafted a winning screen persona that has made her one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors. While Davis' somewhat goofy charm has been well deployed in quirky comedies (e.g., "Fletch" 1985; "Beetlejuice" 1988; "Quick Change" 1990), she has also displayed a flair for light drama, notably with an Oscar-winning turn in Lawrence Kasdan's "The Accidental Tourist" (1988). Strikingly attractive with just a touch of gawkiness, Davis projected an all but irresistible friendliness and vulnerability in her early appearances. More often than not, her best characterizations had her starting out as an untried and fairly ditsy naif who is forced to make decisions that allow her to grow over the course of the narrative. Davis has also avoided much of the stereotypical fare offered contemporary actresses in that she's never played a character who was dying of a terminal disease, been cast as a hooker (with a heart of gold or otherwise) or portrayed a conventional woman in peril. Her imposing physique has given her rare credibility to play athletes and other unusually physical female roles.

Dated for three years before Davis wed Jeff Goldblum; Acted together in "Thelma & Louise" (1991); No longer together

Education

Name

School of Fine Arts, Boston University

New England College

Notes

Davis reportedly had an IQ of over 150 and was a member of MENSA.

"'It just sort of evolved that people decided I was wacky or something,' says Davis, 'and I feel like, When did THIS happen? When did I become the female Rip Taylor? Am I Phyllis Diller? I got this reputation like I'm Bette Midler or something, and I'm nothing like these people. It's a convenient thing to say: 'So you were in 'The Fly' and you were in 'Beetlejuice.' But was I kooky? Let's watch the movie and see how kooky I am. In 'The Fly,' I'm completely serious and I'm crying and I love my lover.'" – from "Geena Soars" by Rachel Abramowitz in Premiere, February 1994

"I want to play characters who are in charge of their own destiny, who are self-determining, for good or bad, who make mistakes or not, but make their own choices and decisions. That way, I avoid playing victims and things like that. I don't feel that I need to contribute to that particular thing." – Davis quoted in Scene, November-December 1994

"I went to New York planning to get a modeling career that would launch my acting career. I never stopped to consider that becoming a successful model was as hard as becoming a famous actress...When I think about it now, it almost seems like naiveté, this unshakeable, blind faith that this was supposed to happen to me. I never considered giving up and going home. I always thought, 'Oh, it's just around the corner.'" – Davis to Parade, Sept. 15, 1996

Davis had a small tattoo of a cherub with Renny Harlin's first name on her right ankle. Following their 1998 divorce, she underwent laser surgery to remove it.

She received an honorary doctorate from Boston University in 1999.

Davis qualified to compete in the semifinals for a slot on the U.S. Olympic archery team in 1999, ranking among the top 32 women in the country. She failed to qualify for the finals, however, but was invited to participate at a test event in Sydney, Australia as a wildcard entry.

On June 12, 2012, Davis was appointed as a United Nations special envoy. The actress was named a spokesperson for the Tech Needs Girls campaign of the International Telecommunication Union, which raised awareness throughout the world about how information and communication technologies can empower women.